Winter weather could foul up LSU's big game

On Monday morning’s Southeastern Conference basketball teleconference, a reporter asked LSU’s Johnny Jones how his team would prepare for the weather before tomorrow night’s game against Kentucky.

The cold that has blanketed most of the country has even made its way to the Gulf Coast, with temperatures in Baton Rouge, La., expected to drop near record lows in the 20s tomorrow. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch.

Louisiana rarely sees weather like that and isn’t prepared to handle it, which raised the question of whether the nationally televised game against the Wildcats would be postponed.

“The game’s going to be played inside if it’s fortunate enough to be played,” Jones said. “We have to make sure that we get ready for that, so our approach will certainly be the same.”

Kentucky Coach John Calipari followed Jones on the teleconference and heard his answer.

“I just heard Johnny say because of weather, what, we may cancel this game?” Calipari said. “Tell us before we get on this plane.”

The Baton Rouge Advocate and Louisville Courier-Journal reported that as of this morning both schools were planning to play the game as scheduled, with the 11th-ranked Wildcats flying to Baton Rouge after practice this afternoon. The officiating crew is trying to make it there ahead of the weather.

LSU needs to be sharp when the ball tips to have a chance to knock off Kentucky and bolster its fading NCAA Tournament hopes. The Tigers are 0-2 against RPI Top 50 teams this season and after tomorrow will only have two more chances, both on the road — at Kentucky on Feb. 26 and at Florida on March 1.

Some Missouri fans might still get their blood boiling while watching their favorite team take on former Coach Mike Anderson and Arkansas tomorrow, but the emotions for Anderson have calmed down compared to last season, when playing the Tigers meant facing former players Laurence Bowers and Phil Pressey.

“When you worked at a place, obviously — I still have friends there — and you’re going to have some emotional feelings from that standpoint, but more importantly, it’s a big game in conference play,” Anderson said. “This is Missouri’s second year in the SEC. We’ve played two games. We split. And now it’s the next one on the schedule. The emotional part of it also is I had some former players there, but those guys have moved on.”

The game remains significant for both teams as Missouri tries to pick up a needed road victory after dropping back-to-back games away from Columbia and Arkansas looks to continue to climb out of the hole it dug with a 1-4 start to league play.